Forum Moderators: martinibuster
But the scraper boys can throw up a site in a few hours that makes more in a month than each individual content site of mine makes all year.
Is that so easy to make money online? If so, how many the scraper-site millionaires do you know?
I think this is just an online myth.
But the scraper boys can throw up 1000 sites in a few hours that makes more in a month than each individual content site of mine makes all year.
I wonder how those scrapers are able to get at least ten to hundred thousands of visitors a day. They do have an enormous amount of fake content, but how do they manage to rank high enough?
My first site from 1998 has still many visitors. Only 15% less in average compared to the best years.
The content which I create now will be also interesting in several years and help new content pages.
But what the situation of a scraper?
Could be wiped out by a "We do not like made for AdSense sites" action
Could be wiped out by a improved search algorithm.
So I am shure in the 10 year game, scrapers earn less than good content sites.
Also content sites are much better for the nerves.
It makes me nervour enough, that afer CTR increased suddenly in July, CTR is suddenly back to June figures.
Scrapers are accepted by their creator as short term. They are not betting on the long haul for a single domain. The long haul strategy is to make more scrapers as your current ones are deindexed.
Do they make money? I have no idea.
I think in most cases they don't. The money they do make is probably due simply to throwing up a page (a useless page) for every single topic imaginable and receiving stray traffic that, by page, is negligible--but in total may be considerable.
I don't think having a million pages, even a million sites, implies having a million visitors a day. It just isn't that simple. Even people here with good quality pages have had to work to get them noticed. And scrapers don't have the benefit of return traffic, nor do they attract unsolicited links.
I think there are some successful scrapers who know what they are doing, black hat wise. I think there are a lot more who don't even get a return on investment from the tools and keyword lists they were sold with the promise of easy riches. The ones who do succeed may work as hard or as smart as the ones trying to do things right, and what's the fun in that?
Telling people how they can make money online is a pretty big industry. Probably a bigger industry than making money online. (unless of course, telling people how to make money online is how you make money online).
Is that so easy to make money online? If so, how many the scraper-site millionaires do you know?
What makes you think the scraper site owners publicise their earnings to get on millionaire lists? I don't know any bank robbers. That does not mean they don't exist.
I think in most cases they don't. The money they do make is probably due simply to throwing up a page (a useless page) for every single topic imaginable and receiving stray traffic that, by page, is negligible--but in total may be considerable.
Or, to target easily ranked in niches that havee a decent (i.e > $0.10 per click) income.
I have come across a number of these in the past two days. I was looking for a specific piece of equipment (not computer or Internet related). Very frustrating searches, and I have to admit I ended up clicking on a few of the ads on these sites.
There are fields out there where people are clueless when it comes to SEO, which gives the spammers a huge advantage.
WBF
BTW, scraper sites are just the tip of the iceberg. Just a few weeks ago, somebody on the Google News forum mentioned plans to launch a 2,000,000-page user-review site before it had any "real content." I'm sure we've all encountered similar sites. (I've even seen keyword-driven, template-generated pages with no content on supposedly legitimate big-name computing sites.)
Just yesterday, an executive at an advertising network told me that "there's very little good content on the Web." If you're talking about percentages, that's becoming more true all the time.
I use a reporting tool that ranks (competing) sites based on certain keyword positions over search engines I choose - from time to time a "new" site pops up in multiple client's markets (unrelated), ranking well - it's easy enough to see they are well targeted and ranking as well as most pro SEO's can rank them.
One site I found had 50k pages+ indexed (per domain), but one particular domain was ranking top 10 for several markets I was monitoring (unrelated). Further research into the site and it was ranking pretty well for a hell of a lot of content.
Other sites I've found are refering reasonable amounts of traffic to my sites (SERP scrapes) so that's an indicator they are also doing well.
Take one keyword, one page and a good professional SEO = you can be sure it will be top 10 at least. Multiply that by 50,000.
With variations in traffic levels, CPM, etc I make around $10 per month per (content) page on my info site (white hat :P). Even if scrapers are making 10% of that, we are still talking $50,000 in a month. Per site.
These sites can be and are in place for months before Google boots them and then they just setup again and continue to use the same Adsense account (and let's not forget traffic from non-Google sources).
It's not easy and everyone doesn't do it because it takes a fair level of techinical knowledge and resources to implement on a regular basis and be successfull. Most "SEOs" can't get top 5 rankings for legitimate pages on competitive keywords, let alone an autogenerated site full of them.
I think a lot of wannabes are doing as ownerrim suggests - making some bucks on stray traffic from bad optimisation - just like their white hat brethern doing the same! ;)
But just like the big players in the white hat (and black hat) games - scraper sites have theirs as well.
Not a myth.
MG
What makes you think the scraper site owners publicise their earnings to get on millionaire lists?
If you have been with this forum over a year, you had noticed that there were a lot of threads which bombards the forum how much they made from AdSense from their scraper sites. They predicted they would become a millionaire a short time. Boom! They disappeared. If they don't they're hardly talking about it anymore. I don't think any of them make it.
I know one thing for sure that Google knows who own the scraper sites and make millions, if any. Do you think Google looks other way and let them destroyed one of its proud programs?
>> there were a lot of threads which ... predicted they would become a millionaire a short time.
Nope, I don't remember those. Maybe you have some examples.
>> I know one thing for sure that Google knows who own the scraper sites and make millions
How are you so sure?
>> I don't think any of them make it.
If they made it they are highly unlikely to come to this <largely> scraper averse audience and boast about it. What do you expect next, that they disclose their domains?
If there ever were oportunities for scrapers to make big money they are certainly finished by the time a thread like this appears on a public forum. The so-called "scraper millionaires" are already working on the next big thing.
If I knew what the "next big thing" was I don't think I'd blow lead time announcing it.
The only intelligent comment I've read here was from a person thinking long term - 10 years ahead. If you are thinking "temporary strategy" you are stupid. Go buy Freaconomics and read the chapter "Why most drug dealers still live with their Moms". I finished highschool and got my diploma from UC Davis, which is in Northern California. We have tons of people smoking weed (and doing other drugs).
Selling drugs is one of the most profitable enterprises, right? Well, how come none of the 10 or so friendly neighborhood drug dealers I know and am "friends" with make even 100+ K a year? Because they get arrested and jailed once every two years or so.
Remember cloaking, Traffic Equalizer, blog bombing - what happened to that? Google shut 'em down.
People scrape content first and foremost because they think with will bring them more SE traffic. But it really does not do that, at least not in most instances. Why would you want to do something that does not work? How many successful scraper publishers are there in WW?
So they target some keyword they think is great for whatever reason, build a site around it, and er hope. But it falls through for many reasons. Basically, they know didly squat about an industry, even less about doing business, most likely don't have a business education etc and therefore it must fail without the proper expertise behind it. Then they jump on forums desperately seeking the nugget that will sort out their already stuffed idea, only to find it doesn't help. (what a surprise). "But it's the web though" I hear them cry, THAT doesn't mean anything.
If the idea is bad, it will fail. If you have a good idea, and no cash - it's tough to reach the next big step etc. I could go on, but will people listen.
The scraper sites are hated from what I can gather, and it's encouraging this black hat, SEO industry to falsely manipulate/push sites higher in the search results which results in innocent people into spending hard earned cash on naff websites and services.
That's not quality or genuine service. It's saying people are stupid actually - but then again if they fall for it, they are! Only have themselves to blame....
I think that the scrapers make gobs of money for both themselves and Google. That's probably why Google doesn't nuke them.
Tell this guy [forbes.com] who just paid $7,000,000 out of the money he made from SPAM :)
Allowing these sites to dominate the SERPS would be short-sighted and give Google some fast money but it would be a dangerous game because in the end people would turn to other search engines.
Atomic, I couldn't agree with you more. I should have made myself more clear when I posted
I think that the scrapers make gobs of money for both themselves and Google. That's probably why Google doesn't nuke them.
Is that what you want....
I'm not sure the media should print stories about spammers.
Opinions about what the media "should print" (or broadcast etc.) are about as useless as spam itself.
Listening to the story didn't make me want to spam people...
Tell this guy who just paid $7,000,000 out of the money he made from SPAM :)
Some weeks ago, the most famouse russian spamer was killed.
Striked in his apartment.
>> there were a lot of threads which ... predicted they would become a millionaire a short time.Nope, I don't remember those. Maybe you have some examples.
These are some quotes as examples:
I make at least 40% more every month for the last 4 months. Sometimes more. We are on target to be making 7 figures a year by December.
I'll do 7 figures with adsense next year easy as well.
He still makes a decent amount of money, but now focuses on making actual sites.
topix.com
Did you by any chance mean topix.NET? (I'm not saying that I think they are "scrapers", I just think it's unlikely that you refer to their .com brethren...)
If you want to see a single scraper site that had US$1 million in revenues in the last year, look no further than topix.com.
I think you meant topix.net, which isn't a "scraper site" as the term is generally defined. (Certainly not as the term is used at Webmaster World.)
Also, topix.net's revenues aren't all that great for the amount of traffic that the site generates (and for the investment of time and money that has gone into topix.net).
